Mexican chocolate chilli and black bean soup
I knocked up this soup last winter. It combines onions and garlic for detoxifying goodness with chillies to fire you up, tomatoes and carrots for essential vitamin C, beans for protein and chocolate because it's a solution to almost everything.
Serves 2
dried black beans 100g
onion 1
garlic 1 clove
small red chilli 1 or a pinch of chilli flakes
paprika a generous shake
ground cumin a generous shake
oil a splash
carrot 1
red wine 30ml
chopped tomatoes 1 x 400g carton or tin
vegetable stock cube 1
dark chocolate (3 squares, approx 20g)
fresh parsley to garnish
Put your beans in to soak the night before, or early in the morning if you're going to be cooking that evening. Place them in a bowl, cover with fresh cold water and then some, and cover the bowl with clingfilm. Leave for a minimum of 8 hours to soak.
When soaked, drain and thoroughly rinse your beans. Put them into a saucepan with fresh water and bring to the boil for approximately 10 minutes, then turn down to a simmer.
Meanwhile, peel and slice the onion and garlic, and chop the chilli (reserving a couple of slices for a garnish), then put them all into a saucepan along with the paprika and cumin. Add the oil and cook over a low heat until the onions and garlic soften.
Wash and chop the carrot, and add to the saucepan. Pour the red wine and tomatoes in, and stir through. Crumble in the stock cube, then add the dark chocolate and 400ml boiling water. Drain the beans and tip into the pan. Stir and leave to simmer for 20 minutes, or until the carrot is tender.
If you like, pulse the soup in a blender until smooth. Serve hot, garnished with a sprig of fresh parsley and a slice of red chilli in each bowl.
Tip: swirl cream, natural yoghurt or creme fraiche on top before serving.
Spring piggy
This is an adaptation of a Nigella Lawson recipe for spring chicken. Idon't peel my veg – there's so much goodness just under the skins. I use yoghurt in this dish rather than cream because it is one of my food shop staples. Serve with mash, rice or bread.
Serves 4
cooking or streaky bacon 300g
onion 1
garlic 1 clove
oil a splash
white wine 100ml
fresh thyme a fistful, chopped
fresh parsley a fistful, chopped
carrot 1
chicken stock cube 1 dissolved in 500ml boiling water
English mustard 1 tsp
savoy cabbage or spring greens 70g (about a quarter of a medium cabbage)
green beans 50g (fresh or frozen)
natural yoghurt 2 tbsp (optional)
Dice the bacon, peel and chop the onion, and peel and finely slice the garlic. Put these into a large sauté pan on a low heat, with a splash of oil. Once the onion has softened, add the wine and the chopped thyme and parsley, stir through and leave simmering on a low heat. Wash and chop the carrot, and add it to the pan. Pour in the hot chicken stock and stir in the mustard. Cover and leave to simmer on a low heat for 20 minutes, checking and stirring occasionally, as you see fit.
Wash and finely chop the cabbage or shred the greens and, about 5 minutes before serving, add to the pan along with the green beans. Right at the end of cooking, stir the yoghurt through to make the sauce slightly creamy – this is optional but delicious.
Earthy red wine and mushroom risotto
In the winter, serve this risotto in a deep bowl with a spoon. Or it can make a special meal for two served with some lovely crusty bread. You could also eat this as a side dish with roasted chicken thighs or sausages, but I eat mine by itself with green vegetables on the side.
Serves 2 as a side dish or 1 as a main meal
oil 1 tsp
garlic 1 clove
mushrooms 100g
dried mixed herbs 1 tsp or a fistful of chopped fresh thyme and parsley, plus extra to taste
rice 140g
red wine 75ml
tomato puree 1 tbsp
vegetable stock cube 1 dissolved in 700ml boiling water
Heat the oil gently in a frying pan. Peel and finely slice the garlic and add to the pan.
Gently clean any excess earth from the mushrooms with a clean tea towel, chop them into small chunks and add to the pan. Shake the herbs over and allow everything to cook together for a few minutes to sauté the garlic and mushrooms.
Add the rice and stir to coat in the oil. When the rice starts to turn translucent, pour in the wine and add the tomato puree, stirring constantly to prevent any of the rice sticking to the pan.
When almost all the wine has been absorbed, start to add the stock, one ladleful at a time. Stir in each time until almost all the liquid has also been absorbed and then add another ladleful of stock. Repeat until either the stock is gone or the rice is cooked to your liking. Sprinkle on additional herbs to taste and serve.
Not meatballs
These "not meatballs" are adapted from a recipe in the Abel & Cole Veg Box Companion cookbook. They are a great veggie alternative and a favourite in my household. Delicious served with spaghetti and tomato sauce – or simply a carton of chopped tomatoes heated through.
Serves 2
aubergine 1
red or white onion 1
garlic 1 fat clove
red chilli 1
black olives finely chopped, 1 tbsp
oil 3 tbsp
lemon zest and juice of 1 or 2 tbsp bottled lemon juice, plus extra to serve
bread fresh or slightly stale, 1 slice (this is a good way to use up old bread)
fresh basil a handful, plus extra to serve
Cut the stems off the ends of the aubergines and halve lengthways. Dice the flesh into chunks and pop into a medium non-stick saucepan or frying pan. Peel and finely slice the onion and garlic, chop the chilli as finely as you can, and add these plus the olives to the aubergine in the pan with 1 tablespoon of the oil. Cook on a medium heat for about 10 minutes to brown and soften.
Grate over the lemon zest, squeeze in the lemon juice and, once the aubergines are soft, tip everything into a mixing bowl. Grate the bread over the top, finely chop the basil and mix in well.
Shape the mixture into tablespoon-sized balls with your hands. Put the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a frying pan and carefully fry the aubergine balls in batches until browned all over. Remove with a slotted spoon and serve with extra lemon juice and torn basil to taste.
Creamy mustard chicken with winter veg
This hearty, saucy dish is delicious in the winter, served with root vegetables and rice or mashed potatoes, or in the summer, with green vegetables and tossed over pasta.
Serves 2
oil 4 tbsp
chicken breasts 2 or 4 thighs or drumsticks
cooking or streaky bacon 100g (optional)
onion 1
large carrot 1 or 1 x 300g tin of carrots
mustard English, wholegrain or Dijon 1 tsp
chicken or vegetable stock 500ml
fresh parsley a handful
fresh thyme a handful
double cream or natural yoghurt 200ml
Heat the oil in a medium-sized non-stick saucepan and add the chicken. If using thighs, drumsticks or breasts with skin on, place them in skin side down. Cook for 5 minutes on each side on a medium heat to seal. If using bacon, chop it into 1cm chunks and toss into the pot with the chicken.
Peel and chop the onion and wash and slice the carrot, and add to the pan. If using tinned carrots, simply drain and tip in. Stir the mustard into the stock and pour into the pan to cover the vegetables and half-cover the chicken. Finely chop the parsley and thyme and add to the pot. Cover with a lid and cook for 20-30 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.
Remove the chicken and stir the cream into the sauce in the pan. Boil rapidly for a few minutes to thicken the sauce. If you've got yoghurt rather than cream, add it off the heat after reducing the sauce. Serve the chicken with the sauce poured over.
Tip: green beans make a great addition – in fact, chuck in any vegetables that are kicking around. Asa rule of thumb, add root veg shortly after browning the chicken and add small veg such as peas, shredded greens or green beans 5 minutes before serving. For a vegetarian version, leave out the chicken and put in more veg asrequired.
Firecracker sausages with tragedy mash
"If you see me eating sweet potato mash out of a saucepan, you know it's bad news", is a phrase most of my friends are familiar with. Sweet potato mash with chilli and cheese is my go-to tragedy food: straight from the pan while watching Bridget Jones's Diary. I've topped it with another favourite – firecracker sausages. If the chilli hit is too much, eliminate it from the sausages but keep it in the mash.
Serves 1
large sweet potato 1
large white potato 1
sausages 2-3
oil a splash
onion 1 small or ½ large
small red chillies 2
white wine vinegar 1 tbsp
marmalade 1 tbsp
wholegrain mustard 1 tsp or scant ¼ tsp
English mustard
hard strong cheese grated, a handful to taste
Bring a medium saucepan of water to the boil. Wash and roughly chop the sweet potato and white potato, and put into the pan. Reduce the heat to a medium simmer and leave on a back hob to cook for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, prick the sausages and put them into a medium frying pan or sauté pan with the oil. Peel and slice the onion – think chunkyish slices likehot dog onions – and add them tothe pan.
Once the onions have softened, add 1 finely sliced chilli, thevinegar, marmalade and mustard, and cook onamedium heat, stirring toencourage the onions to absorb all of the spicy sweet flavours and turning the sausages to brown and cook through.
When the potatoes are soft, drain them, leaving them slightly wet to mash. Finely slice the remaining chilli and toss it into the potato pan along with the grated cheese. Mash with afork or potato masher according to desired consistency. Spoon the mash into a bowl, top with the spicy sausages and onions, and enjoy.
Feisty soup
I make this for myself whenever I feel as though I am coming down with a cold. It's called feisty soup for a reason: it's a bit like hot and sour Chinese soup in a way, and if this doesn't help shift whatever is wrong with you, I'm not sure what will.
Serves 2
onion 1
garlic 1 fat clove
fresh ginger a thick slice
red chilli 1
oil a splash
chopped tomatoes 1 x 400g carton or tin
vegetable stock cube 1 dissolved in 200ml
boiling water
lemon juice of ½ or 2 tsp bottled lemon juice
parsley a handful
Peel and chop the onion, garlic and ginger, chop the chilli, and put them all into a medium-sized saucepan with the oil. Cook on a low heat until the onion is softened. Tip in the chopped tomatoes, pour in the stock and add the lemon juice. Chop the parsley and add to the saucepan as well. Simmer for about 20 minutes, until the onion and ginger have softened.
Blitz in a blender to achieve your desired consistency. I leave mine a bit chunky but it can be blended smooth.
Eat, and feel better soon!
Tips: if making this soup for little mouths, do not chop the chilli or use the seeds inside. Instead, halve the chilli down the middle and rinse it under a cold tap to remove the seeds, then add to the soup whole during cooking. Remove before blending.
Any remaining soup will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for two days, or in the freezer for three months.
The soup can be left whole and chunky as a fiery sauce to form part of a more substantial meal. Omit the stock, stir through a few handfuls of cooked prawns and some green beans, and serve with spaghetti or noodles.
Pork kokkinisto
This traditional Cypriot dish is best served with light, fluffy rice or potatoes and green vegetables. It can be cooked in the oven in a roasting tin (25-30 minutes at 180C/gas mark 4) or on the hob in a large frying pan or sauté pan. It is delicious made with pork belly, pork loin or spare ribs, or even chicken thighs and drumsticks if you fancy them. The sauce can be made separately as a standby for a quick bolognese or pasta sauce – this is one of my favourite recipes when I want something rich and comforting, but with only a little lazy effort.
Serves 4
pork belly or pork loin 600g
oil 2 tablespoons
large onion 1
red wine 200ml
chopped tomatoes 1 x 400g carton or tin
fresh rosemary 3 sprigs of or 2 tsp mixed dried herbs
sugar 1 tbsp
fresh parsley a handful
Cut the pork into large cubes, around 5cm. Pop into a frying pan, skin side down, with the oil on a medium heat for a few minutes to seal. Turn over to seal all the edges of the meat, then reduce the heat to low.
Peel and finely slice the onion, and add to the pan. Sweat on a low heat for a few minutes until it starts to soften.
Pour in the wine and turn the heat up slightly to medium to simmer the meat. Tip in the tomatoes. Finely chop the rosemary and add to the pan with the sugar. Stir to combine the ingredients, and leave to simmer, uncovered, on a low heat for 20 minutes or until the meat is cooked.
Finely chop the parsley and sprinkle over to serve.
Ham, pea and mint casserole
This is adapted from a favourite old recipe of mine – where I would boil the ham joint whole to make a stock, before shredding it into the casserole. This faster version makes a delicious dinner in less than half the time. Serve with crusty bread topped with melted cheese and green vegetables.
Serves 4
uncooked ham joint 1 x 500g or 500g bacon
onions 2
oil 1 tbsp
chicken stock 300ml
white wine 100ml
fresh parsley a generous handful
fresh mint a generous handful
small white potatoes 500g or 500g tinned potatoes (drained weight)
frozen peas 150g
Dice the ham or bacon and peel and chop the onions. Put into a frying pan with the oil and fry on a medium heat, turning to seal the meat on all sides. Leave to cook through for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Meanwhile, pour the stock and wine into a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Finely chop the parsley and mint, including the stalks, and add to the pan. Wash and dice the potatoes, leaving the skins on (or drain if using tinned ones), and put into the saucepan.
Cook until the vegetables are tender,about 10 minutes for fresh veg or 5 minutes for tinned.
Once they're done, remove about half the potatoes from the saucepan and place in a blender. Add just enoughstock to cover, and blend untilsmooth. Tip back into the pan andstir through.
When the ham or bacon is cooked, toss everything in the frying pan into the saucepan along with the frozen peas. Stir and cook through for a few final minutes until the peas are tender, then serve.
Tip: to bulk out or sweeten the casserole add 2 large carrots or 200g tinned carrots (drained weight), chopped, at the same time as the potatoes.
Scampi roes
The trick to making good batter is to get lots of air into it – I take a belt and braces approach of self-raising flour plus bicarbonate of soda or baking powder as well. The oil must be hot otherwise you will end up with a sodden mess of sad gloop dying at the bottom of your saucepan.
When frying, I use a milk pan and pour in 5-7cm of oil, and fry in batches. If you are using a larger pan, you will inevitably use more oil. As always when deep-frying, do it carefully.
If you have time, make the batter an hour or two early and chill it in the fridge. The reaction between hot oil and chilled batter makes for a light, crisp batter. Delicious served with chips and peas.
Serves 2
oil to fry
self-raising flour 100g (or 100g plain flour and 1 level tsp baking powder or bicarbonate of soda), plus extra to flour thework surface
lemon zest and juice of 1 or 2 tbsp bottled lemon juice
bicarbonate of soda 1 scant tsp
paprika 1 heaped tsp (optional)
fresh parsley a handful
milk 100ml (or 100ml water with a tbsp of natural yoghurt)
herring roes 120g
lemon wedges to serve
Pour oil into a small deep-sided saucepan to a depth of 5-7cm and puton a medium heat. Be careful of thehot oil!
Measure the flour into a mixing bowl and add the other dry ingredients: grate in the lemon zest, add the bicarbonate of soda and the paprika, if using. Finely chop the parsley, add to the bowl and mix everything together.
Pour in the milk – or water and yoghurt – add the lemon juice and mix in with a fork to form a smooth batter. Lightly flour your work surface and geteverything ready for the battering and frying.
When the oil is gently bubbling, it's ready. Take a piece of herring roe, roll on the floured work surface and drop into the batter. Lift out with a tablespoon – to keep as much batter as possible clinging to the edges before the crucial frying process.
Carefully lower it into the oil from the tablespoon. Repeat until the pan is two-thirds full, leaving room for the battered roe to expand without sticking together.
As each battered roe is floating and golden-crisp, lift out with a slotted spoon, draining any excess oil, and place on a plate to drain some more. Repeat until all of the roes are battered and cooked. Serve with lemon wedges.
Tip: make a simple "tarty" sauce to dunk the roes in by mixing natural yoghurt with lemon juice and chopped parsley.
You can replace the herring roes with any chunks of white fish to make little battered nuggets, but herring roe holds together well when cooked and makes for a pleasantly creamy smooth contrast to the crunchy batter.
Peanut butter and jam thumbprint cookies
My small boy loves making the thumbprints in these and spooning in the jam, and it's a happy rainy-day activity to do together.
Makes 12 cookies
butter 50g, plus extra to grease the baking sheet
caster sugar 2 tbsp
egg yolk 1
crunchy peanut butter 2 tbsp
self-raising flour 8 tbsp (or 8 tbsp plain flour and 1 level teaspoon baking powder or bicarbonate of soda), plus extra to dust your hands
jam 4 tbsp
Preheat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4, and lightly grease a baking sheet in preparation. Cream the butter and sugar together in a mixing bowl with a wooden spoon until softened and well combined. Add the egg yolk and the peanut butter, and mix until the peanut butter is evenly distributed through the mixture. Spoon in the flour and stir to make a soft dough.
With lightly floured hands, break off a walnut-sized piece of dough. Place on the prepared baking sheet and flatten slightly with a fork. Repeat with the rest of the dough. Using your thumb, or a teaspoon, make a deep well in the centre of each flattened ball of dough – the cookies will flatten and spread out slightly as they cook, so don't be afraid to dig in. Melt the jam slightly in a microwave for 30 seconds on a low setting, then spoon a little into the centre of each cookie. Bake in the centre of the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes, or until golden.
Tip: try different combinations, such as grated white chocolate in place of the peanut butter and lemon curd instead of jam. Or try dark chocolate with blackberry jam for a dark, delicious "Black Forest gateau" version.
Extracted from A Girl Called Jack: 100 budget-busting, delicious recipes (Michael Joseph, RRP £12.99).
To order a copy for £10.39 with free UK p&p go to theguardian.com/bookshop
